Linus

Linus has been adopted! –

Linus came to us from a shelter, along with his littermate Lucy, at about 6 months old. Advertised a Shiba mix, DNA test results showed he is mostly Husky, Chow, & Cattle Dog. Not a bit of Shiba, but worthy of rescue none the less! Having been dumped so young, Linus never learned that not all humans are bad. He was going to need lots of time and patience to learn to trust humans.

Linus’ affection for his foster parents grew quickly, but he remained cautious of strangers. We knew it would be hard to find an adopter for a non-Shiba, but the fact that he was a puppy should get some attention. 7 months later we’d had no interest in Linus, and with his foster’s pending summer travels, we had to move him. 

Kayleigh & Alan are great supporters of COSIR; always there for us in a pinch, so they agreed to foster Linus. Linus did great with their Shibas (foster Rey, and Jack). He was immediately drawn to roommate, Travis; picking him as his person. He loved Alan too, but was hesitant of, and kept his distance from Kayleigh. This made sense when we later identified his pattern of dislike for blonde women. Kayleigh respected his space, and let Travis take the lead with him.

When Travis moved out a few months later, we worried about Linus. How would he cope with Kayleigh now as primary caregiver? Shortly afterwards, much to our surprise, Kayleigh informed us that they would like to adopt Linus. Kayleigh’s explanation melted our hearts.

Within days of Travis leaving, Kayleigh’s horse unexpectedly passed away. She was grief stricken. Linus sensed her pain, went to comfort her, and did not leave her side; thereby solidifying a deep bond. Kayleigh & Alan were so moved by Linus putting aside his fears to lift her up, they simply couldn’t let him go. People often say “we don’t deserve dogs”, and this is why. Kayleigh & Alan (who simultaneously adopted Rey, a disable Shiba) clearly fall into the category of people who DO deserve dogs, and unlike his first humans, are deserving of Linus. What a happy ending! 

PS-When our blonde female director went to finalize Linus’ adoption, he made it clear that he still doesn’t like blondes; his love for Kayleigh is special.